- Dixie
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/dik"see/, n.1. Also called Dixieland, Dixie Land. the southern states of the United States, esp. those that were formerly part of the Confederacy.2. (italics) any of several songs with this name, esp. the minstrel song (1859) by D. D. Emmett, popular as a Confederate war song.3. a female given name.4. whistle Dixie, to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies.5. of, from, or characteristic of the southern states of the United States.[1855-60, Amer.; often said to be (MASON-)DIX(ON LINE) + -IE]
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the (South, the) Southern U.S. states, especially those that belonged to the Confederate States of America (1860–65). The name came from the title of a song composed in 1859 by Daniel Decatur Emmett; this tune was popular as a marching song of the Confederate Army, and was often considered the Confederate anthem.According to the most common explanation of the name, $10 notes issued before 1860 by the Citizens' Bank of New Orleans and used largely by French-speaking residents were imprinted with dix (French: “ten”) on the reverse side; hence the land of Dixies, or Dixie Land, which applied to Louisiana and eventually the whole South.The song “Dixie” was originally a “hooray song” or walk-around in Jerry Bryant's minstrel show, for which Emmett, a native Ohioan of Virginian parents, performed and wrote music. It was played at the inauguration of Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis on Feb. 18, 1861, in Montgomery, Ala.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
